Henley Blog - Yale Women's Crew Tackles London

Jun 23, 2009

Christine Glandorf Writes About Team's Trip To
London

Yale women's crew is currently in Henley-On-Thames, England,
preparing for the Henley Royal Regatta. Periodically during the
trip, a member of the team will blog about the experience. Today,
Christine
Glandorf writes about Monday's trip to London.

On Monday, after an
eventful and successful weekend of racing on the Thames, we
decided to use our hard earned day off taking in the sights and
sounds of London. After a quick train ride through the lovely
British countryside (spotted: many cows and a red hot air balloon)
we disembarked at Paddington Station. I had visited London once
before, and served as unofficial tour guide, though I stumbled a
bit trying to navigate the team to Piccadilly Square. After a quick
lunch at a French cafe on Regent St, and fortified by tasty gelato,
we made our way to Covent Garden, where we perused the flea market.
Afterwards we popped on the London Underground (we were practically
pros by the end of the day) and made our way to Trafalger Square,
where we posed on the famous bronze lions. We meandered down
through Whitehall and were awed by the sights of central London;
the towers of parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, which made
Harkness Tower look tiny in comparison. Those of us who didn't mind
heights (or the pricey ticket) went up on the London Eye, the giant
ferris wheel that offered panoramic views of the city. YWC was
literally "on top of the world". With our feet back on the ground,
we headed to Buckingham Palace where we tried to spy the queen to
no avail. Exhausted by our mad dash around all the biggest
landmarks of London we caught the train back to Henley-on-Thames,
weary but pleased by our tourist escapades. Now it is back onto the
Henley race course for more fun on the water!